Barbara Taylor Bradford - The Emma Harte 7-Book Collection - A Woman of Substance, Hold the Dream, To Be the Best, Emma’s Secret, Unexpected Blessings, Just Rewards, Breaking the Rules

THE EMMA HARTE 7-BOOK COLLECTION

A Woman of Substance Hold the Dream To Be the Best Emma’s Secret Unexpected Blessings Just Rewards Breaking the Rules

BY BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

A Woman of Substance First published in Great Britain by Grafton Books 1981

Hold the Dream First published in Great Britain by Granada Publishing 1985

To Be the Best First published in Great Britain by Granada Publishing 1988

Emma’s Secret First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2003

Unexpected Blessings First published in Great Britain by by HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Just Rewards First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Breaking the Rules First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2009

Copyright © Barbara Taylor Bradford 1981, 1985, 1988, 2003, 2005, 2009

Cover layout design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2014 Cover images © Shutterstock.com

A Woman of Substance : Cover image © Richard Wright/Corbis

Hold the Dream : Cover photography © Jean-François Talivez

To Be the Best : Cover photography © Jean-François Talivez

Emma’s Secret : Cover photography © Jean-François Talivez

Unexpected Blessings : Cover photography © Jean-François Talivez

Just Rewards : Cover photography © Jean-François Talivez

Breaking the Rules : Jacket image © Vincent Besnault/Getty images

Barbara Taylor Bradford asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBNs:

A Woman of Substance : 9780007321421 Hold the Dream : 9780586058497 To Be the Best : 9780586070345 Emma’s Secret : 9780006514411 Unexpected Blessings : 9780006514428 Just Rewards : 9780007197583 Breaking the Rules : 9780007304073

Ebook Edition © DECEMBER 2014 ISBN: 9780008115333

Version: 2017-10-27

COVER

TITLE PAGE THE EMMA HARTE 7-BOOK COLLECTION A Woman of Substance Hold the Dream To Be the Best Emma’s Secret Unexpected Blessings Just Rewards Breaking the Rules BY BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD

COPYRIGHT

A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE

HOLD THE DREAM

TO BE THE BEST

EMMA'S SECRET

UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS

JUST REWARDS

BREAKING THE RULES

KEEP READING

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ALSO BY BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD

A Woman of Substance

For Bob and my parents – who know the reason why

The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them; a man may live long, yet get little from life.

Whether you find satisfaction in life depends not on your tale of years, but on your will.

– MONTAIGNE, Essays

I have the heart of a man, not of a woman, and I am not afraid of anything …

– ELIZABETH I, Queen of England

COVER

TITLE PAGE

DEDICATION

EPIGRAPH

FOREWORD

PART ONE: The Valley 1968

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

PART TWO: The Abyss 1904–5

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

PART THREE: The Slope 1905–10

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

PART FOUR: The Plateau 1914–17

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

CHAPTER FORTY

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

PART FIVE: The Pinnacle 1918–50

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

CHAPTER FIFTY

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

PART SIX: The Valley 1968

CHAPTER SIXTY

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

When A Woman of Substance was published thirty years ago I was thrilled and also very surprised when the book, my first novel, became such a runaway bestseller. What amazed me even more was that it reached the top of the bestseller charts in so many other countries, and was available in a variety of foreign languages. You see, when I had finished writing the book it occurred to me that perhaps it was a little too parochial, since so much of it was set in my native Yorkshire. My French publisher soon set me straight about that, ‘Nobody cares that much about location,’ he explained. ‘It’s Emma that intrigues and captivates. We all become enmeshed in her story and want to keep reading about her, to see how she ends up.’